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Sold my M6 :(


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I just (literally, 2 hours ago) sold my M6. Convinced myself, after losing 3 rolls because of probable user error while installing the roll into the camera, that my M-P 240 would serve me better.

 

That might be the case... but the M6 has a charm that its newer sibling doesn't have. And film... when I get it to work, looks amazing.

 

Maybe look for an MP now?

 

 

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The loading mechanism is exactly the same on an MP and an M6. Which is to say, it's idiot-proof!

 

The first time I loaded my MP was the first time I'd loaded film in a decade. I just popped the roll in, stretched the film out so it reached the take-up spool, closed the camera, wound it twice and confirmed that the rewind-wheel was spinning (the two red dots) during the last wind, and started shooting... I didn't bother to line up the prongs or anything. The rear door always stays shut. It just works.

​The  only time I had problems was with a roll of Acros 100. The film was extremely brittle, and the film leader partially snapped of during the first wind. Also, on the same roll, the film would loosen from the canister at the end of the roll while winding... Luckily I noticed it and was able to rewind the film successfully.

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...

 

Never lost a spool of film, but missed the photos sometimes painfully, when the film wasn't transported.
Allways watch the rewind knob, if it turns correctly when transporting the film.
Perhaps in the beginning take more than only two blind pictures for controlling the right transportation.
Or waste a film and look through the opened backside, if the film is transported correctly or why not.
Repeat this until you are successful even under stress, outdoors or in darkness.
If you can't manage this with an M6 you won't fix it with an MP, because the film loading systems are nearly equal. 
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I have used all the film loading systems and prefer the M3 (and M2) system. It really is impossible to get wrong (push the film leader in all the way, and done). Also you get fast at loading it after a few rolls and you can have a pre-loaded roll or two if you have some extra take up reels in your kit. A final advantage is that it is very clear when the film is rewound, but with the leader still out of the canister. This is important for light proofing of the canister and for ease of loading in development.

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I just (literally, 2 hours ago) sold my M6. Convinced myself, after losing 3 rolls because of probable user error while installing the roll into the camera, that my M-P 240 would serve me better.

 

That might be the case... but the M6 has a charm that its newer sibling doesn't have. And film... when I get it to work, looks amazing.

 

Maybe look for an MP now?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Selling an M6 and then buying an MP... A MP is basically an M6 with the old rewind-knob of the M2/M3, nothing else.

Loading my M6 takes 10 seconds. Pull the film out until its end reaches between the tongues of the take-up-spool.

Close the backdoor, put on the baseplate. The small Spokewheel mounted on one side of the baseplate pushes the film right into

the place where it should be.

Turn the rewind-knob (carefully) until a resistance is noticeable.

Wind once (and watch the rewind-knob), release, wind a second time - ready for picture one.

That's exactly the way described in the manual and it works, as it does on my M4 and M4-2.

Edited by Fotoklaus
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The first time I loaded my MP was the first time I'd loaded film in a decade. I just popped the roll in, stretched the film out so it reached the take-up spool, closed the camera, wound it twice and confirmed that the rewind-wheel was spinning (the two red dots) during the last wind, and started shooting... I didn't bother to line up the prongs or anything. The rear door always stays shut. It just works.

Exactly the process that I did. It pains to take 3 rolls worth of photos to realize, when developing, that you lost them all.

 

To be fair, it worked really well for my first few rolls. Lately has been such a hit or miss... mostly miss.

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What is the cause (or what are the causes) of the loss of these three rolls?

Can we have some pictures of what's wrong ?

Film is the best as support , really the best !

Best

H.

The film was never transported. So, no photos were taken in the end :(

 

 

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Leica Ms are no harder to load than any other SLR, now loading 5x4 or 10x8 that can be tricky!

As already said just take up the slack on the rewind knob and watch it move as you wind on the film three or four times. You can always check every so often by seeing if the rewind knob will tighten. How do you check if a camera has film in it?

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Leica Ms are no harder to load than any other SLR, now loading 5x4 or 10x8 that can be tricky!

As already said just take up the slack on the rewind knob and watch it move as you wind on the film three or four times. You can always check every so often by seeing if the rewind knob will tighten. How do you check if a camera has film in it?

 

 

I've used film cameras since 1960 when I was 7, and I worked in a camera shop where people used to bring their cameras in for me to load, many of which were very odd things (the cameras, not the customers, although now I think about it...)

 

So I have a bit of experience but the 35mm cameras I generally had most trouble loading over the years were Ms. I don't know why. Maybe its a psychological problem!

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Hello Peter,

 

It might have been that the majority of cameras at that time had backs that swung open all the way exposing both the spool chamber & the cartridge chamber at the same time.

 

Most films just slid into a slot or a tulip of some sort. Then a short film advance. Then the person snugged up the film. Then the back was closed, etc.

 

M's were a different procedure. Altho pretty much just as easy. Except for M1 thru M3 w/o a quick load. Sometimes difference is momentarily baffling until the problem solving matrix in a person's head switches over.

 

It may be this type of hesitation & not the actual procedures involved actually loading the film that caused you to see a difference.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

Edited by Michael Geschlecht
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I have difficulty seeing the logic behind considering an MP, having just sold an M6 for the reasons stated. But I also know there's little logic and reason behind decisions to buy an M.

 

In my experience the take-up tulip is most certainly not idiot-proof something of which I myself am proof. I have messed up film loading both in my M4 and my M6TTL. Considerably more regularly in the former, however, and I suspect it is because the edges of the tulip have become a bit blunt with age (among other reasons likely).

 

One thing to consider is how you thread the film through the tulip. On my M4 it works better if I bend the edge of the leader 'to the left' so that the leader doesn't just cross the tulip left-to-right, but is bent. This makes the leader catch better on my camera.

 

 

br
Philip

 

 

The film was never transported. So, no photos were taken in the end :(


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Hello Peter,

 

It might have been that the majority of cameras at that time had backs that swung open all the way exposing both the spool chamber & the cartridge chamber at the same time.

 

Most films just slid into a slot or a tulip of some sort. Then a short film advance. Then the person snugged up the film. Then the back was closed, etc.

 

M's were a different procedure. Altho pretty much just as easy. Except for M1 thru M3 w/o a quick load. Sometimes difference is momentarily baffling until the problem solving matrix in a person's head switches over.

 

It may be this type of hesitation & not the actual procedures involved actually loading the film that caused you to see a difference.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

Michael, I wonder whether Leica might be able to fix my problem solving matrix if I send it in for repair. I think it needs recalibrating.

 

I owned Leica's for years and often had problems loading film. I know others find it easy enough but it was always an unpredictable exercise for me, no matter how familiar a routine it became. I still loved them though.

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The thing is that it's not really about the tulip, it's about making sure the sprocket holes line up. It's the sprockets the pull the film through, the tulip just makes sure that it ends would and not just stuffed into the chamber. Once I figured that there were no more misloads.

Edited by michaelwj
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